Luke Ford

Reb Mimi Feigelson, who some say was the first woman ordained an Orthodox rabbi (99% of Orthodox Jews would not recognize any woman as a rabbi), led the shul kiddish one Shabbos morning three weeks back.

Leading the kiddish has been a ritual traditionally left to men.

This is the first time I know of a woman leading the kiddish (for an audience of men and women) at an Orthodox shul.

When Reb Mimi took to the bima, there was a huge cheer from the women’s section.

From JewishSF.com, March 8, 2002:

Mimi Feigelson considers herself a rabbi. And in the Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist or Renewal communities, no one would question that. Certainly she is learned enough, has studied enough, has the proper credentials. And those who have studied with her can’t say enough about her — she definitely has that rabbinic aura.

But she won’t use the title. Because in her world — which is Orthodox — things are not so simple.

Although she received smicha (rabbinic ordination) in 1994 from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, she kept it a secret from most people. And it remained that way until a reporter from the Jewish Week in New York followed up on a rumor. Feigelson was outed as having Orthodox smicha in December of 2000, shortly after an Orthodox rabbi granted smicha to Eveline Goodman-Thau.

"I live within the Orthodox world," said Feigelson, 39, in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "That is my spiritual community."

According to her reading of the sources, Feigelson believes a woman can be a rabbi. But her community does not agree. "I did not want to be marginalized for something that is halachically permissible. So in order to honor the community I live within, this is the choice I made."

The Jerusalem-based Feigelson, who has a two-year teaching appointment at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, will be a scholar in residence at San Francisco’s Congregation Beth Sholom today and tomorrow.

For an Orthodox woman, Feigelson has made some rather unorthodox choices. Her personal style is one; she wears her long hair in a ponytail — except for one thin braid on the opposite side — and can often be seen in a tie-dyed dress.

Her position at the University of Judaism, a seminary for Conservative rabbis, is another, as is her upcoming weekend at the Conservative Beth Sholom. Feigelson is known by some Bay Area Jews who studied with her during Passover last year in Dharamsala, India. This will be the first year in four she won’t be leading a seder in the home of the Dalai Lama.

Feigelson, who specializes not only in Torah, but also in Chassidic literature and thought, strongly believes in teaching to those who want to learn, whether they be the students at Yakar, the Orthodox yeshiva in Jerusalem that she co-founded, or the completely secular Israelis traipsing through India. This also puts her at odds with the Orthodox establishment, whose teachers, for the most part, offer instruction only within the Orthodox community.

When approached to participate in the seders and seminars in Dharamsala, "I felt it was an amazing opportunity to bring God to a place where God already is," said Feigelson.

Meeting secular Israelis who are open to learning Torah in Israel is next to impossible, she said.

"To come into contact with them would take weeks and months of building trust," she said. "In India they’re open; they’re there. When we’re on a journey, everyone we meet is a teacher. When we’re in our homes, that’s when our skepticism and doubt and fear come in."